Children of The Desert: Skybringer
by GrayxSilver
Summary: Ethan Skybringer has a horrible life. His parents, members of The Desert, were killed one night. He lives alone with his pet Jackson, searching for the man who had massacred all members of his parents' organization. With the help of kids like him, could he save the Spiral from this evil man, without killing himself or his new-found friends?
1. Chapter 1

"I can't believe you!"

Kenneth received a hard slap across the face rendering him speechless only for mere seconds.

"But it's true! Rebecca, I need you to understand! These are dire circumstances! Even if you are pregnant, we must meet them! Don't you remember, the group has been counting on us to deliver our messages for this side of the Spiral! The others were… You saw what happened to the others! Now come on! We need to get to Zafaria as soon as possible."

Rebecca looked down at her stomach, the fear she felt completely evident and glimmering in her eyes. "I can't have him there. If they find out I'm pregnant, he might kill us, or..."

She placed her hands on her swollen abdomen. "They might kill him."

Kenneth put his head in his hands, exasperated not only with his wife, but with himself. "But... We've got no choice. You and I both know that this meeting is utterly required. It is absolutely necessary to attend if the universe is going to last. If you won't do it for me, then maybe you should think about doing it for the sake of the Spiral."

Rebecca shook her head, sadly. "I just can't believe the danger we are putting our baby in. He hasn't even been born yet and we are already jeopardizing its existence."

Kenneth rubbed her back. "Everything will be fine. Besides, who in the Spiral would ever have any reason to turn in a pregnant woman and her infant?"

It wasn't long after the meeting when Rebecca's water broke. Kenneth had rushed her to the nearest World Door and guided her through it and into Ravenwood, where Moolinda Wu had been waiting after receiving a call. Rebecca had been a previous student of hers and Professor Wu was glad to help her give birth.

Luckily the birth had no complications and Professor Wu's healing magic had somewhat eased the pain. A crowd had gathered outside the Life Tower in anticipation of the new arrival. As you may have guessed, a new baby was always a great thing in Wizard City.

The infant was completely healthy, displaying beautiful hazel eyes and raven-black hair. Its skin was somewhat of a darker tone than its parents, but not quite enough to be questionable. Most of the other Professors were sent to calm down the crowd of excited wizards before Merle Ambrose arrived. You see, every time a child is born in Wizard City, Ambrose is sent to identify its school. As he slowly made his way into the Tower with his pet Gamma, students whooped and hollered for joy at the prospect of having a new student. Of course, as Headmaster Ambrose approached, Gamma gasped and cooed at the sight, his excitement sparking through his avian eyes. As Ambrose's hands waved through the air, Kenneth Ghosthunter and Rebecca Earthbringer watched in awe at the sparks of magic that swarmed around the baby. The once multi-colored sparks, however, were soon beginning to turn into the colors of red, black, and tan, forming into the shape of the Balance Symbol. Headmaster Ambrose softly smiled at the baby and at his parents, slowly making his way outside.

"My students," his old voice echoed around Ravenwood, bellowing loud enough so every rowdy wizard could hear him above the racket. "The time has come to announce the gender, school, and name of this baby!"

The crowd cheered and many of the professors tried to calm the kids down.

"From now on, this infant shall be known as…"

The kids held their breaths in anticipation.

"Ethan Skybringer, male wizard of Balance! He shall be taught by Professor Wethersfield and Alhazred in Krokotopia!"

Arthur Wethersfield bowed his head, trying and failing to conceal his joy and excitement.

A wizard student must always start studying magic at the age of 13, and no sooner. This frustrated Ethan as he grew older, considering the fact that he hated being cooped up in a house with only his parents to talk to. Throughout all of this, though, he was still glad to be a part of such a fun family. His parents had always gone away at random points in time to go to meetings in Zafaria, but Ethan didn't ask questions. Besides, he was sure they were probably just visiting family or something. Unfortunately, however, all of this changed after Ethan had finally reached 13. It was night, and Ethan would start school the next month. His parents were sleeping soundly in their room, only letting out the occasional soft snore.

No one knew what was happening until it happened.

It was around midnight when the door unlocked downstairs. The family had been living in an average sized home close to Ravenwood, so there was no reason to fear danger. This was a freaking school of Wizards, not to mention multiple Professors who would surely eliminate any threat before it arrived at the house. Of course, however, there is always someone more powerful than one you may lay your hopes in. Ethan and his parents continued to doze, seeing as though the doorknob made no noise as it was slowly opened. A slight draft of cool air drifted in from the streets before the door was closed and locked again, to prevent any escape.

You may wonder who would want to break into a random wizard's house, or even why, but the answer should already be clear. Rebecca and Kenneth, if you can't remember, were a part of an organization. This organization met in secret on a small, secluded area in Zafaria, where many adult wizards discussed and conspired against an evil man. You see, after the defeat of Morganthe in Khrysalis, a man has been massacring many wizards throughout the Spiral, with no sort of pattern whatsoever. Merle Ambrose, however, has been used to the prospect of sending one particular student to defeat a certain villain, but this man has proven to be stronger and far more deadly than Morganthe or Malistaire combined. That is why, as Headmaster of Ravenwood School of Wizardry, he decided to head a small secret organization known as "The Desert." Of course, a membership or even knowledge of said organization was only for the most elite and powerful wizards, two of which being Kenneth and Rebecca. The evil man, the one the organization was conspiring against, had received word that an organization had been formed to defeat him. This was bad enough for him, but when a child had been born, it was going too far. That was when the man decided to take action and start eliminating every member of The Desert, so that none of the children could grow up to learn about it and be a part of it. Anyways, upon arriving at the house, the man quickly and silently made it up to the Master Bedroom.

The death was quick, but loud. Loud enough to wake up their son, Ethan. He had been asleep for a while, until he heard a loud banging in his parent's room. This immediately woke him up, so he sat up and got out of bed, not caring about his lack of clothes. He urgently charged through his door and into the hallway where he saw the silhouette of a rather large man. He was about to jump on him before he disappeared from view. Instinct told Ethan to run away, but he managed to stand his ground. However, he then heard the door unlock and open. He was about to go in before being pushed out of the way, as if he was a fly, and the man's evolved shadow magic was a sort of flyswatter. The door closed and locked behind the man once he entered, and Ethan quickly recovered from his state of mild paralysis. He dashed for the door and banged on it.

"Mom! Dad! Is something happening in there?" He continued to bang until he heard a deep, menacing voice boom from within the room. "There is no point in trying to escape. I have the whole house surrounded by my magic. One touch and your body is burned from the inside out."

This man was not his mom or his dad.

"Please! Don't hurt our baby!"

"Oh, I'm not planning on hurting a little hair on his head. I came here for you…"

Ethan ignored the man's ramblings and checked outside the window on the other side of the hallway. Sure enough, the house had been separated from the outside world by a shimmering screen of dark bluish-gray. Ethan then returned to the door to listen in.

"Please,"

This voice was his mother's.

"Please don't harm anyone. No one did anything except for us. Just…"

Ethan could hear her struggling, and he was barely able to bear it.

"Just kill us. Leave everyone else alone."

Rebecca shrieked as rage grew evident in the man's voice. "Do you think I would believe such foolishness coming from two of my enemies? Do you honestly believe that I would be vapid enough to think that you two are the only members of The Desert?"

"Mom, Dad, what the heck is he talking about? What is 'The Desert'?"Ethan shouted as he continued to slam his fists on the door.

The man snickered. "Just for that little act of "kindness", I'll make your death even MORE painful than your friends'!" The man laughed maniacally and a loud banging followed. Ethan heard his parents screaming. "Please stop! Please! Have mercy!"

The man almost shrieked as he pushed out another wheezy yet psychotic laugh. "Why would I ever stop? How else am I supposed to get my entertainment? Any wizard I meet ends up trying to kill me, so I have to kill them in seconds! It is far more enjoyable to brutally maim and kill an unarmed wizard while hearing them begging for their lives!"

Another loud bang and Ethan realized that the loud crashes were actually the man casting spells. The screams grew louder and more gut-wrenching, turning into shrieks and wails as Ethan fell to his knees and closed his ears. He couldn't handle having to listen to his parents pleading to die.

"Don't kill my parents! Please stop this! They did absolutely nothing wrong!"

Another bang and Ethan could smell the horrible stench of burning flesh. Only a few more seconds of screeching before the shouts became whimpers, and the whimpers became silence. Finally, the door opened and Ethan rushed in, tears staining his young face, only to see the man disappearing into thin air. He didn't even look once at the singed bodies of his two formerly living parents before shouting for help as the shadow-screen vanished.

That leaves us with Ethan Skybringer, a now fully-fledged Balance Wizard. He had witnessed the death of his parents, so he did what any sensible person would do and ran away. He lived alone, now fourteen years old, and he already owned his own house. He still learned new spells from his teachers, but most of his time was spent alone in his home, with his newly obtained pet, Jackson.

It had been a full year since the death of his parents, but still no one knew who had given information to this evil man. Ethan, however, was determined to find out. He had done a little research on his parent's organization, but had found nothing, and wasn't about to go looking for help. Especially not from Merle Ambrose. He must have had a lot of trouble with this.

"Not as much trouble as me." Ethan selfishly muttered to himself, thinking aloud.

He was in his room, studying for his next test from Alhazred. As previously stated, he had recently been given a pet Sabertooth from his teacher, and he was currently roaming the house, occasionally coming up to rub on Ethan's leg. Jackson was a nice pet. Almost like a cat. In battles, he would often cast a somewhat helpful balancespear, and he even talked. Of course, this didn't always prove to be helpful, or even pleasant.

"Ethan, you need to lay off the studying. Wouldn't you like to go to the park in Unicorn Way? I hear it is great for pets..."

Ethan looked up, slightly annoyed at the interruption. "Jackson, I need to study. If I don't pass this test, I might have to take it again! It's bad enough to take it once!"

"I hear ya, but you gotta have some fun sometimes, right?"

Ethan sighed in defeat. He knew when to pick his battles, and this one wasn't important enough to argue about. "Okay. I will take you to the park..."

"Yes! Now hurry up and open the door! The kitty flap won't open."

It was a beautiful day that day, Ethan soon noticed. The birds were out of their nests, chirping and singing as the Unicorn Way fountain continued to spout blue-green crystalline water in the center of the park. Everything was as it should be, including the small yet lush hedges that surrounded the small pond. Ethan let his pet happily roam the grounds and he sat on the bench facing the Unicorn Statue. He closed his eyes, enjoying the smell and feel of the nature. His latest classes had taught him to really savor the feeling and beauty of the Spiral. He started to fall asleep until he heard someone sit down beside him. He opened his eyes once more and swiveled his head slightly, hoping that whoever it was would not realize he was looking. He soon realized that it was a girl with long, black hair and blue-green eyes. Her clothes were a greenish color with baby-blue trim, clearly signifying that she was a life student.

Jackson came bounding over from his spot near his friends and newfound girlfriend whom he had met in the Khonda Desert of Khrysalis. "Everything alright, E-man?"

Ethan's thoughts stopped and he turned to Jackson. "Uh... yeah... Just...thinking, you know?"

Jackson rolled his eyes, slightly amused, and Ethan turned back to the girl. She was beautiful, he quickly came to realize. The sunlight reflected perfectly off her hair and her eyes were the color of the water flowing in front of him. She wore a small gardening hat and was currently looking down at her hands, as if unsure what to do next. He began to get mesmerized and started to stare, but Jackson stopped him. "Ethan! Love bird! Hello?"

Ethan turned back to Jackson in exasperation. "What? Can't you go play some more? It looks like you're missing out on all the fun over there! Just go and play…anywhere else."

Jackson rolled his eyes once more. "Kid, I see what you're doing. You're in love, aren't you?"

It was Ethan's turn to roll his eyes. "Yeah, right. I mean, sure she's attractive, but I wouldn't call it love..."

"I can tell that you are by how you've been trying to shoo me off. Trust me, I won't abandon my master."

He was sincere for the most part. However, he had to mutter one last thing.

"No matter how stubborn he can be…"

Luckily, Ethan was too distracted to take any offense. Or to really even know he said anything, for that matter.

Ethan sighed, somewhat tired. "I know you wouldn't. Your more loyal than any guy could ask for. It's just… I don't know."

Jackson stared at Ethan blatantly and dead-panned, "Okay... I trust you've had the talk about the birds and the bees..."

Ethan suddenly clamped his hands over his ears. "Nope! Not listening! LALALALALALALA-"

Jackson shook his head and laughed. "Okay, okay, I'll go play. Just don't mess this up, okay?"

Ethan rolled his eyes and patted Jackson on the back. "Thanks for the wonderful encouragement."

After a moment of just sitting, he finally gained the courage to talk. "Um... Hi."

The girl turned to him and smiled, making Ethan blush slightly. "Hi. What are you doing here? Doesn't Alhazred call his students for their spells at this time?"

Ethan smiled a bit, too. "Actually, I sort of graduated. I turned fourteen a few months ago. I rarely go to the school anymore. All I really do is take tests and learn an occasional spell from my teacher every so often."

"Oh, really? I turned fourteen last week! My graduation ceremony ended this morning."

Ethan awkwardly nodded, not in any way sure of what to say next. "So… What are you doing here? Did you bring your pet to play?"

Miranda shook her head. "Nope. I just... My parents died about a year ago and... This is where I come to calm down."

Ethan's eyes widened, suddenly noticing the tear stains under her eyes that he hadn't previously noticed. "Really? The same thing happened to me! Are you okay? I'm sorry for your..."

He stopped himself, knowing how frustrated and alone he felt whenever someone would say that to him. He slid closer to her, hoping some physical contact would lift her spirits. However, tears continued to stream down her face. She kept her voice steady as she continued speaking. "One night, a man broke in. Me and my parents had heard screaming coming from a few blocks down, and had woken up about an hour previously. But, we couldn't prepare soon enough. You see, my Mom was an Ice and my Dad was a Fire, they were confident that they could take him down. I was so scared, and i hid upstairs in my room. Now I wish I hadn't, because the last thing I heard my parents say was that everything was going to be okay."

She began sobbing more.

"I can't believe the last words I heard them say were lies. They lasted only a few seconds before they were…" She choked on her tears and decided to stop talking.

Ethan was completely and utterly shocked. There were other kids just like him?

"I'm so sorry. Do you want to stop by my place for something to eat? I sort of… I need the company, if you know what I mean."

The girl smiled. "Sure. That would be great." She was about to get up when Ethan stopped her. "Um... I didn't catch your name..."

"Miranda Windflower. And what's yours?"

Ethan smiled at her pretty name. It fitted a Life Wizard quite well.

"My name's Ethan Skybringer. I hope you feel better." He smiled at her before turning to his pet who had just walked up to him. Jackson winked slyly at him before going back home.

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"Jackson, how would you like your fish today? Salty or sweet?" Ethan pulled out a plate for his pet, who shrugged.

"Doesnt matter to me. Actually, do you have that special sugar?"

Ethan nodded, opening the cupboard. "Yes. I always have a private supply."

"Then can I have that? It makes me feel happy..."

"Of course you can. But please don't make it sound like a drug. You make it seem like you sniff Gnome pollen whenever you eat it."

Ethan quickly realized who was in the room, and decided to refrain from being too casual.

"Miranda, do you like macaroni? I'm sorry, it's all I have. I can go run down to the Shopping District if you want something else."

She smiled gratefully, which surprised Ethan. "Macaroni is just fine. It's actually one of my favorite foods."

Ethan smiled softly, his eyes widening. "Really? Mine, too! I can fix it instantly. I helped Dalia Falmea with her little fire elf infestation and she agreed to teach me this spell called Scald..."

He soon realized he was rambling and stopped himself. He would not be ruining his chances with this girl!

"Scald? Yeah, I use that spell to cook, too." She grinned as Ethan began to move his hands in a swirling motion as the symbol for the school of fire appeared in front of him. The room lit up as a small fire flared under the pot. However, it was gone in mere seconds when there was an obnoxious ringing noise, signalling that the Macaroni had already finished.

"Instant Macaroni." Ethan joked. "Bon appetit."

Miranda licked her lips as a plate was set in front of her.

"Hey! Lovebirds! I really hate to ruin the moment, but I wanna eat. And we can't do that before we pray..."

"Oh! Almost forgot..."

Ethan took a seat beside Miranda and held her hand. They bowed their heads and began to pray.

"Amen."

Everyone looked up and Ethan looked over to Miranda, who was crying. This startled him, but he quickly recovered. "Oh my gosh..."

He was not quite sure what to do. Had he made a wrong move and made her cry? Had he said something to hurt her feelings?

"Uh... Miranda, are you okay? Do you need some help? I..."

"No, nothing's wrong."

She wiped her tears away, embarrassed that a boy had seen her cry twice in one day.

"I just... I haven't prayed since my parents died..."

Ethan instinctively wrapped his arm around her shoulder, but quickly pulled away, seeing as though they had only just become acquaintances.

This evil being had murdered innocent people and left their children extremely vulnerable. He also knew that there would likely be more teens like him and Miranda, and wherever they were, they needed help. Ethan stood up from the table. Miranda looked at him, ceasing to eat her macaroni for a moment. She could tell that he was deep in thought, and decided to leave him to ruminate over whatever was bothering him. Whatever was causing him pain was not something that even a Life Wizard could heal.

**Hey guys! I hope you liked the prologue of my little story! I just wanted to get this first chapter out of the way, so I would have something to work with after I finish my other fanfictions. Also, if you are a fan of my other stories, I hope you took the time to read this one, because I will be working on this one after my others are done. R&amp;R!**


	2. Chapter 2

"You misunderstand me!"

The small and frightened child tried and failed to hide his paralyzing terror from the malicious man standing before him.

"_I _misunderstand _you_?! Please enlighten me on how one could misunderstand such an utterly blatant threat. You are in no place to hold such a stance against me, boy."

The young wizard shriveled up, recoiling from the cold grip of shadows that spread from the evil man. He continued to stutter out words. "I-I dealt with Malistaire in Dragonspyre. You don't scare me!"

The man bellowed a throaty laugh, the entire room vibrating at the volume. "I don't give a damn how many pesky old wizards you've dealt with in any fraction of your mortal life. Morganthe was powerful enough to possess his very essence, yet even she was but a mere gnat compared to my power."

"You're bluffing! You must be! Even Headmaster Ambrose couldn't easily contain her!" The sniveling weakling sat up, trying his best to regain his confidence and dignity, yet the monster of a man grabbed him by the hair, slamming him back against the cold stone wall. The poor child fought for his life to cling on to the thin thread of his consciousness. He felt a piercing cold spread from his hair, where the man had grabbed him, all the way to his deepest nerves. A blackish color permanently remained in a few patches of hair. The man's shadow magic was even colder than the young wizard's own ice magic, yet he remained still and silent, but not dead. The man took this as an opportunity to finish. "Don't test me, boy. Pick your battles and know your limits."

Ethan and Miranda heard a glass-shattering crack, and a sudden rush of cold air seeped in from the outside of the home. "What the heck is going on? I could have sworn it was Spring!" Jackson complained. Miranda pulled her sleeves down so as to protect her exposed skin from the frozen air. Ethan walked over to the door, automatically looking out the peephole to see what was going on. All he saw were light blue robes waving around as the breeze tried to sweep them away from their owner. He sighed, rolling his eyes.

"It was just another ice wizard practicing his magic. I'll take care of it." He opened the door halfway and poked his head out. "Hey, doofus! I'm pretty sure Professor Greyrose wouldn't want you aiming your spells at other people's houses!"

The stranger did not move a muscle.

"Kid, are you deaf or something? What are you doing lying in the middle of the street? You'll get run over!"

There was still no response, and by this time he began to realize that something was truly wrong. He turned his head slightly back toward the kitchen so Miranda could hear him. "Hey, I hope you've been practicing your healing magic. I think this little guy is hurt."

He heard a gasp and tried to help Miranda not stumble over the welcome mat while trying to rush to his aid. She shoved her hand deep into her robes and produced a wand.

She swished the small rod in the air right above the injured wizard, a small, somewhat greenish symbol appeared above her head. Ethan recognized it as the symbol of Life. The magic was visible through the beautifully mesmerizing sparkles that looked like teal glitter thrown into the air, and Jackson stopped to look. It was nothing like the little tan, black and red sparkles from balance magic. They frankly reminded him of dust.

As the magic settled on the wizard's forehead like falling rain, small, rattled breaths could be heard. Miranda looked back up to Ethan and grinned. "I think he's going to make it."

Jackson breathed a sigh of relief, but Ethan simply nodded. He was happy that the wizard was alive of course, but the fact that anyone's life was threatened was what was bothering him. What issue could there possibly be? Morganthe had been taken care of and Malistaire was surely not coming back anytime soon, so who could it be? That old, evil man from his childhood had surely not decided to strike yet, and even if he had, it would have been far more extravagant than an injured wizard appearing in front of his house.

The thought of that horrific monster brought a shiver down Ethan's spine. He shook off any of his previous thoughts to acknowledge the fact that Miranda was smiling at him still. He didn't know why this pleased him, but he definitely didn't question it. Ethan was in no way anywhere near supermodel attractive, but he wasn't really ugly either. He was just sort of average, and that was what confused Ethan. He never thought any girl would ever look twice at him.

Jackson cleared his throat, knowing full well that they were sort of having a moment. He looked at the two wizards expectantly. "Oh, please don't let me interrupt you, but I thought it would be beneficial to know that the kid is waking up."

Miranda gasped like before, and turned around quickly, already kneeling at the young wizard's side. "Hello? Can you hear me?"

"Could you speak a bit louder, please?"

MIranda glanced at Jackson and Ethan hopefully.

"Can you hear me? Are there any problems with your ears?"

"I highly doubt anything would be wrong with my ears. It's my head you may need to check out, though."

Jackson snorted. "Yeah, I thought your black highlights looked sort of weird, but I wasn't going to mention anything."

Ethan gently bumped him with his shoe. "Show some respect. We have no idea what this kid has been through."

The ice wizard glared at Jackson, yet eyed Ethan with a more wary glance. "I didn't put any highlights in my hair. What makes you think I did? Oh, no! Did I get dirt in my hair?"

Jackson looked as if he were staring at an alien. "You seem like a goofball. My name's Jackson."

The kid shrugged. "Why do you think I'd care?"

There was a growl and suddenly Jackson was staring the poor child down. "If you know what's good for you, you'd at least be polite."

"Oh, be nice you furball!" Miranda scolded jokingly. Ethan laughed and was quite glad that she could turn the awkwardness into something to be happy about.

"My name is Mason, since you seem so interested."

Ethan rolled his eyes. It would take a lot of work to tolerate this sarcasm. "Well, Mason, I hope you're feeling better. Now go away, we were trying to have a meal."

Miranda glared at him accusingly. "What is wrong with you? Invite him in for dinner! Mason's probably been through hell and back!"

Jackson growled, obviously not very happy with the suggestion. Ethan wasn't too keen on it either, but he at least was polite enough to accept the proposition. The kid was going to stay for dinner if that was what Miranda wanted. He was a sucker.

Jackson had a sudden loss of appetite from that point on. Whether it was defiance or pickiness, Mason thought it was annoying. As he gulped down large spoonfuls of macaroni, he kicked Jackson's food bowl around under the table. He would then retaliate by biting his uncovered ankle, causing him to shriek. Ethan and Miranda exchanged nervous glances as the endless chain of retaliation continued. This was going to be exhausting.

Have you reached that point in your life when you really notice change, child of Earth? The early years of your life, your childhood, are the years that you think everything is great. Life is fantastic, easy, and will only continue to get easier. You are stuck in this wondrous, beautiful delusion that everything is going to be okay. Then you go through your first loss. You may deny it, but on the inside you know you didn't feel as much as you should have. You subconsciously believe that you won't die. You aren't afraid of death because in your mind, death is impossible. As a child you don't fully understand the gravity of death, just like some adults do as well. However, you have begun to break out of your oblivious shell. By this time your school years have begun.

There is a downside to Elementary School. You are still at that old oblivious age that you think everything lasts forever, even life. You build up friends, you build up strength and you build up an even stronger love for life. Then it ends. You lose your friends. You lose your girlfriends or boyfriends, your pets, your family, sometimes your happiness. And yet, with little exception, you start over again. You act as if you are a new person, building up friends again, finding love in other people, buying new pets to replace the old, and moving on from losing family. All you have left of your old life is the deep nostalgia you feel when you listen to your old friend's favorite song, or you look through old yearbooks or photographs.

This cycle repeats itself over and over again...until it doesn't.

Your shell is continuing to shatter into millions of pieces as your family slowly dies off, your friends slowly drift farther away, and your love falls away to dust. You want everything to last forever, but you don't believe it will anymore. You lose your hope and by this time, you have seen the true nature of change. You move on with your life completely. You are close to your family and friends, but not close enough. You love people, but only a little bit. You are constantly afraid that you will be let down again. You are starting a new cycle that only repeats itself for some people, and for those unfortunate few, life is miserable.

If your life isn't miserable, you still have hope, and that's important. You have the small sliver of light in the deep depths of darkness in the world, the Spiral and Earth alike. You know that with every opportunity comes a change, big or small. You are prepared, yet you still love. You live in the present, not the future or the past. You know that loving and losing is better than having no love at all. You've figured out change, and you've embraced it. You know one of the arguably most important secrets of life.

Don't fight change, or you'll lose. The dark tunnel of life may continue to get darker, but you will always have that light at the end. If it is meant to happen, then it will sooner or later. Your life is too valuable to ignore the tugs you feel in your heart. Your life is too important for you to throw it away with hatred and exasperation. Don't fight change. Don't fight love.

Don't look back.

Ethan woke up from his dream. A beam of sunlight streamed past the blinds of his window and blinded him as he sat up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He smiled, remembering what had happened. He had made two friends yesterday, possibly his first friends in many years. Not to mention one of them was a freaking _hot_ girl.

He slipped his feet off of his bed, yawning as he bent down to look for his boots. He opened his closet and found them on the floor under some clothes. He sorted through them and found a very light outfit consisting of long pants and a tight shirt. It hugged his upper half, the colors painted exactly where his body parts were, hip, chest, etc. He liked to think that he looked good in the outfit, but just in case he grabbed a very light cloak he had learned to make out of sand. It was unique, being both opaque and practically less than paper thin. Ethan had only just recently learned to make things out of sad, but the skill proved to be very useful, especially if you wanted something to be covered by, yet let the wind blow straight through.

He attached it to his shirt collar and made his way up the stairs to his kitchen where Jackson was asleep. "Jackson! Hey, were you in the cupboards last night?"

He mewled and stretched, unsheathing and sheathing his claws. "What does it matter? You have plenty of food to spare!"

Ethan sighed, sitting down to pet him. "You know you shouldn't snack after bedtime. You'll get fat."

"Calm down, mother. I was just hungry."

He rolled his eyes at his owner, clearly mocking him.

The breakfast they had was short and small, barely enough to get either of the two through the day until lunch. However, it would have to do. Ethan had to get to his studies as soon as possible, even if that meant missing out on some food. This was the day he learned his next spell.

He gulped down the last of his cereal and sprinted out the door, making sure Jackson was okay before taking off. It was always an exciting thing when you had to learn a spell after wizard school. It meant your teacher took a special interest in you. You see, wizard school could be compared to an Earthly elementary, middle, or high school and the spells you learn afterward is sort of like college. It's a long college, but college nonetheless.

There are non-magical people in the Spiral from time to time. They don't have to be a certain species, they can be wizards just like other magical folk. 'Wizard' isn't a title, it is a species of creatures in the Spiral. The only other place wizards can be found outside of the Spiral would be Earth, which is where most non-magical wizards go. Every so often there is a mistake and some wizards are mistakenly presumed non-magical when they are simply late bloomers. This would be the time when Ambrose himself plucks them out of Earth and into Wizard City's magic school. There has been some prejudice between Earth wizards and Spiral wizards, but some of the most powerful wizards are from non-magical realms. In fact, most of the quest wizards are ones that were found on Earth by Ambrose himself. This proves the fact that Earth wizards are just as good if not better than Spiral-born wizards.

Ethan read through his Earth-Studies notes one more time, memorizing all of the names of famous quest wizards. The only way for him to get the spell today was by passing an Earth-Studies exam from Alhazred. This made no sense to him, since Earth had nothing to do with the spell Gaze of Fate, which he was to be learning. Sometimes, though, the messages projected from Alhazred's confusing tests aren't easily identifiable until i really counts. That is what Ethan liked about his professor. He taught mysterious yet important lessons unlike Professor Wethersfield, who taught blunt and somewhat irrelevant lessons at times.

"Good morning, Bartleby! I see Professor Wu watered you early this morning."

"Oh!" Bartleby, the grandfather tree shook his leaves, letting the lush, green leaves spiral to the ground and cover the doorway to the Tree Chamber. "You startled, me my boy. I know you usually pass me by but you've never said much. Why are you in such a good mood today?"

Ethan shrugged. "I don't know. I just haven't had friends in so long since the..._incident..._that it shocked me to realize people actually cared about me."

The grandfather tree's eyes glimmered under the light of the streetlamps in the old Ravenwood school. "That's a bit of an odd thing to say, don't you think? I know you lost your parents, but that doesn't mean no one cares about you. If no one else, you have me, Ambrose, the professors, and of course Grandmother Raven. You aren't alone."

There was an awkward silence as Ethan held back any trace of emotion he may have felt. "Well, I'll be on my way."

It was a short journey to the Spiral Door where he transported to Krokotopia almost immediately. He immediately caught sight of the small mander by the doorway to the outside. "Hello, Tinu. I'm back for my next spell. Mind if you let me through?"

The mander flinched and hesitated before answering. "Krokotopia isn't accepting outsiders. Please go back to where you came from." He was obviously scared. His slimy skin glimmered from the light that shone from the sun outside. This mander was hiding something. That, in Ethan's not-so-expert opinion, was not smart. "I need you to let me through. If something's going on I should probably know about it. I may not be able to do much, but I'd at least be able to notify some of the local Quest Wizards."

"I'm sorry, I was forced to-"

"Forced by whom? To do what, exactly?"

"I can't tell you." The scared little creature looked up, his eyes wide and watery. "I'm sorry. I can't help you."

Ethan exhaled with a big sigh. He threw his hands up in surrender. "Okay. Do you have anything against me notifying Headmaster Ambrose?"

"No, I supposed not…"

Ethan rolled his eyes. He was still frustrated, but less so now that he could at least tell someone to get something done. He needed to get his spell, not to mention find out what was going on that was such a big secret. "I'll be on my way now." He tried to flip his cape dramatically, but he failed. He instead flicked a blast of sand into Tinu Bhak'Mal's eyes. Embarrassed, he stepped into the Spiral Door with his head hung low.

He had just came all that way for absolutely nothing. All he was planning to do was go to the Balance school and take the damn test for his spell. Instead, he was sent all the way to Krokotopia only to be sent back to Ambrose for some Quest wizard to take care of some super secret issue. If something was going on, Ethan deserved to know, right?

Things were changing here in the Spiral. He wanted to fight it.

Mason was in trouble.

"What are you doing, my boy? You shouldn't fall asleep in school, it isn't good for grades!" Lydia Greyrose's usually cheerful voice took a darker tone as she impatiently tapped her foot on the frozen stone floor of the ice school. Mason sat up groggily.

"Wha..?" He struggled to keep his eyes open and fought against the lull of sleep.

"'Wha?' Are you begging for detention? The polite response would be 'Yes ma'am'."

"I'm sorry but the magic turtle was stuck in the…" The rest of his response was gibberish. Professor Greyrose rolled her eyes and shook her head. She had seen quite a number of sleepy students in her day. "I know that you may think you can get away with anything, but this isn't Junior-Class anymore. You are becoming a full-fledged wizard now that you are in post-graduate school."

Mason shook his head, his hat teetering on the edge of his skull. "I'm sorry, it's just that I've been away from Wizard City for so long I…"

"Mason, you can't continue to use the same excuse for every type of trouble you get into. Besides, whatever happened to you to make you leave?"

"I...I don't know for sure." He contemplate his words very carefully, but perhaps not carefully enough.

"You don't know? What to you expect me to believe, you lost your memory?"

Mason shrugged, half nodding. Professor Greyrose sighed. "Just get back to work. I better not see you sleeping again. Now get back to your test."

Mason sighed as well, going back to concentrating on his paper. It wasn't his fault, right? As a child, Mason had been happy as can be. His parents loved him, his life was good, and his house was nice. However, built on Colossus Boulevard, the Gobblers had come.

It was a normal day. The small tower at the corner blocked the sun at a perfect angle so as to cast a shadow over the gloomy castle at the far end of the sidewalk. No one had been in that castle for years, but there have been rumors stating that a big, fat giant once lived there. According to legend, he ruled over a race called the Gobblers from an old place called Gobblerton, or Candy World, and they made homes out of sugary sweets and warm gingerbread like in the old fairytales.

_That's where Professor Greyrose comes from. She's going to be my teacher,_ Mason had once thought. Of course, no one knew that the Gobblers were real, and that they were on their way.

They came out of nowhere, eating and destroying the homes that Mason and the citizens of Collosus Boulevard had once been used to. Small fragments of roof or wall had taken flight after being thrown off by a hungry Gobbler. It was complete and utter chaos, and wizards ran amuck in the streets, some running and some battling the Gobblers. With all his might, Mason had willed his parents to run, but they didn't. They stayed and fought not just some Gobblers, but the Gobbler King himself. They almost would have won if the big shadow man hadn't seen. He wasn't happy.

Mason had vivid memories of this moment, and he never told a soul. Perhaps he was sensitive about it…

...or perhaps he still hasn't processed it.

All he remembered seeing was the laughing, maniacal face of the malicious shadow monster as he pushed over the old tower.

Mason, barely a toddler at the time, didn't even have time to cry out for his parents before he saw the horrific image of their bones crushed under the stone tower. Their necks snapped under the pressure and, though it killed the Gobblers, the Gobbler King survived. Mason's eyes welled up with tears and he let a harsh, heart-wrenching cry resonate around the now abandoned streets of Collosus Boulevard. His parents had been killed, and the image of their shattered bones-in-skin crushed under the towers weight was ingrained into his memory. Often times, when he falls asleep, he can still see their broken hands reaching out for him from under the collapsed structure, and the evil man stomping on them, breaking each and every one of their fingers. Mason was traumatized, scared, and abandoned on the desolate frozen streets. He wandered the area for months, looking for safe places to hide, places to get warm, and for food. He was found by a wandering Quest wizard at the age of 5 and was taken to Ambrose. Mason spent a lot of time with Gamma until he hit 9 years old and bought his own house.

He was eleven when it hit him...again. He sat in his room and cried for hours, not caring who heard, or whether or not they laughed. _Damn you, Shadowman! One day I will find you and I will kill you so gruesomely that not even the most experienced Death wizard will be able to look at your corpse without feeling nauseous. _

That was when he came in the night and took him to the dungeons of his Palace. You know the rest.

Mason gripped his pencil in frustration as his memories replayed themselves over in his mind. He hadn't made good on his promise yet, and he wasn't getting any younger. Of course, he made two new friends yesterday. That was plus, he thought, but it wasn't enough. He needed revenge no matter the cost.

**Hope you enjoyed this new installment! I know this fanfiction isn't as popular as my others, but I still felt the need to update this one. I have huge plans for this. Please review! I need some feedback!**


	3. Chapter 3

You have a set routine, a method of surviving. You do the same things everyday, like sitting on the same seat of the bus or kitchen table, or eating the same types of foods at the same times of day. You say good morning to the same people and you say goodnight to them as well. You feel the same security when you fall asleep or lack thereof. You have the same morals as your parents. There is no need for you to think for yourself when all the thinking that is needed is done by others. Your hard work means nothing to anyone but yourself. If you were dead, your funeral would be empty. You can have millions attend a church service honoring your memory, or a burial honoring the loss of your presence, but they will be empty. Empty souls, empty bodies, empty people. You can pray all you want, but evil doesn't just end. You can't reverse death, and you can't change life. The world works the way the world wants to work. Whether you believe in a higher power or not, that higher power works the way that it wants to work. You can't escape the ways of life and death. That is the only routine that can't change. Nothing unchangeable in our tangible universe exists as far as we know. We have a set routine, a method of surviving. A way of life. A series of changes to happen from choices to make. This isn't just the Spiral's way of surviving, but the whole Universe's.

"Please don't kill me! I don't want to die!" The wizard of myth was cornered in his own Aquilan home. There was no way out for him, no way to escape. This was the end, and he knew it. You know something strange is going on when a Shadow wizard breaks into your house in the middle of the night and kills your parents. But what did it matter? He hated those old fools since his birth. They did absolutely nothing right except for die. They should've been murdered sooner.

Was it right to think this way? It was the way Austin, the myth student in question, had thought his whole life. No one had ever changed his mind. He didn't love his parents or siblings. He didn't love people at all. I mean, if you live the same way for years and years and are never told differently, the hatred is ingrained in you. By the time you are finally warned, it's too late.

...But what if it wasn't?

"I shan't kill you." The large, intimidating figure shrouded him from the view of any other living thing that could potentially deter him from his ultimate goal. The teen was confused, and still quite a bit frightened. "What the hell are you doing then? You can't have come here without a good reason. There isn't anything of worth in here. Nothing to steal, and definitely no one of importance to kidnap."

"I don't need to kidnap or steal anything. Well, except for maybe your parents' _lives._"

The wizard ignored the pang he felt, the sudden twist of horror in his gut. "Go ahead. You shouldn't have to corner me if you want information."

"Oh, really," the evil entity snickered, not believing. "Because I don't think you'd be so cruel as to release your parents location without a ..._brief_… interrogation."

"Try me. If you step aside, I'll bring you to them."

"Don't lie to me. You can guess what would happen if you end up betraying my trust."

Austin swallowed, his cloak waving around him as an icy cold wind blew off the man like the breath of an Ice Titan. "You have my word," he conceded.

The indistinguishable facial features of the scary man softened. "I believe you. Take me to your parents."

He stepped aside, allowing passage for the child to lead the way. "Follow me. My parents thought they could hide from you, but they wanted me to hide with them. They've always been stupid old fools."

The shadow creature bellowed a deep-throated laugh, the sound causing a few chunks of earth to fall from the ledge above. "I see you hate them just as much as I. I take it you won't miss them?"

"Hell no. Just kill them. It's about time those geezers rotted in hell."

The pair came to a sudden halt, reaching as far as the colossal statue by the silver-watered lake. The stone cyclops that towered over them supported the giant mansion that was surrounded by the yellow-green grass of a cliff that towered numerous stories above the immobile arms of the statue.

"Is that where they are?" the shadow wizard asked. It was unfortunate that his targets had to live in such a large house. He was always able to track the specific houses of wizards, but never the wizards themselves.

"No," Austin replied calmly. "They may be hypocritical idiots, but they definitely don't lack tact."

The villain stepped aside as Austin cast his staff over the unmoving water of the silvery lake. A bright yellow and blue burst of magic popped from the curved end of the magician's staff. This caused a large ripple, almost a wave, to spread from the center of the water to the farthest shores. The circumference of the circular basin glowed a gruesome dark red as the water began to move, forming a whirlpool. The enchantment was fading due to Austin's magic, and the cowering figures of his parents remained at the center of the hole now lacking in water.

"Very good, my child. You have a keen eye."

"Thank you," Austin smirked, proud of himself. He didn't dare say that he only knew they were here because they had told him. He was too busy tooting his own horn that he hadn't listened to the shadow man's words, "Do the honors, boy."

"I'm sorry?"

"I said, 'Do the honors.' Have you gone deaf?"

This statement caught the young teen off-guard. Do the honors? Did that mean…

...It did.

The boy froze in shock and horror. "Sir, I don't think I can…"

"Silence, you insolent adolescent! Kill your parents or I will kill you! I thought you would be happy!"

The boy shook with terror. He won't miss them, so why can't he find it in him to just kill them? There is no reason why they can't just be lying dead on the ground right now. No reason at all…

...Right?

"Hurry up! Kill them! End their pathetic, miserable lives!"

"I can't…"

"You must! Think about what they've done. They've ruined your life! All your life you were held back from what you wanted by these fools! You can kill them! Just think about how much you hate them…"

With what felt like powerful magic, Austin was filled with inhuman hatred. Why couldn't he always get what he wanted? Why did he have to be treated like a child all the time when he was always smarter than his parents? Why must he remain in the home of people who don't even love him?

Without a second thought, he whipped his staff through the air and a loud snap signified the breaking of his parents' necks.

It was night time in Wizard City and all was silent as the Grandfather Tree, Bartleby, slumbered. Only one or two wizards wandered about Ravenwood School at this time of night, those two being the appointed security guards. The whole of Wizard City had been put on high alert after the recent attacks and everyone was constantly on edge. Students' grades were dropping, amount of light magic in Ravenwood decreased, and the happiness that used to be so clearly evident in the glowing streets was now completely drained. It greatly bothered Ethan, who had decided to take a trip to see his old teacher.

Arthur Wethersfield was a native of Marleybone, travelling to Wizard City at the tender age of 9. No one knows why for sure, except perhaps Ambrose himself. However, he was a welcome addition to the school of Balance. Alhazred trained him in all the ways he could to become the next balance teacher. I guess you could say he's still learning, since he is lacking many spells and since Alhazred obviously hasn't retired. However, with his job distracting him, Arthur has been surpassed by many of Alhazred's other students. Ethan was one of these bright young wizards.

As Arthur continued packing his briefcase to head home, Ethan arrived.

"Hello, Professor Wethersfield. It's been awhile, hasn't it?"

The tall dog turned to the young wizard, who was dressed in his red, tan and black robes, the colors of balance.

"How do you do, Mr. Skybringer? What brings you here at such a late hour? I was about to pack my briefcase."

"I'm sorry to interrupt your work, but I've been having this nagging feeling that something is wrong. Can't you sense it? This street is so empty… It's hard to imagine there were ever any people in it. Does that not seem at least a bit strange to you?"

"Not particularly. However, I did seem to have much more student absences he past week or so," Arthur noted, contemplating anything else he had noticed. Nothing came to mind, and he shrugged. "I'm glad you're concerned for the well-being of Wizard City, but I don't think anything is the matter. Maybe you just try getting some rest."

"How can I sleep without having answers? Professor, trust me. Something strange is going on."

Professor Wethersfield glanced at the distressed young wizard. "I know that you believe that, but belief has nothing to do with facts. Any correlation is completely coincidence. Besides, I think you should be speaking to the Headmaster about this. I'm not qualified to handle matters like this. That is, _if_ there is one."

Ethan grunted in frustration. "Thanks for your help," he muttered, stomping over the red and beige bunting that had blown onto the ground from the afternoon's class. This was frustrating. Whenever Ethan had a feeling in his gut, he was probably on to something.

It was a short journey to Merle Ambrose's home in the commons. Only a minute or two of walking through tunnels and passing by determined novices and their friends brought Ethan to the front gate of the tower placed conveniently in front of the lake. A small statue rose above the rippling waters with a small, unreadable description scribbled on a small bronze plate that was nailed to the front. There was a rumour that a seraph lived under these waters…

...But that rumour didn't matter at all.

As Ethan jogged into the dimly lit room that was the Headmaster's, his owl Gamma cooed from the next room over.

"You have a visitor, Merle. It seems to be quite urgent. Oh, _who_ could it be..." the owl hooted, notifying Ambrose of his presence before he got to utter a single word.

"Oh! Greetings, young wizard! Er… Ethan! Sorry, you only graduated just recently."

"That's okay, Headmaster. I understand that big changes can be difficult."

"Oh please, call me Merle. You've been a wizard of the Arcanum for a while… I'm no longer your Headmaster."

Ethan gulped, not used to the new privilege. A few days ago, Alhazred had offered to give him a job at the Arcanum as a Balance initiate along with Jaki Whisperwind. He had completed his final test and his teacher believed it was time for something more than just himself. Ethan had insisted that it would be fine just learning under Alhazred, but he persisted. Ethan finally agreed, and had faux-cheerfully greeted the other Arcanum members with gratitude. Whether or not the gratitude was sincere is up for debate. However, he couldn't be too unhappy. This was the opportunity of a lifetime-of ten lifetimes.

Keeping a positive attitude would be beneficial for everyone, to be honest, so that was what he was going to do. Though a difficult labor, the outcome would make all of the hard work worth it.

As Ethan's thoughts began to trail elsewhere, Headmaster Ambrose became confused. It wasn't normal for him to dose of in the middle of conversations.

"Hello? Are you alright, Initiate?" He waved his frail hand in front of his face, trying to get a reaction. Suddenly, Ethan jolted awake and looked around in very brief perplexity before remembering where he was.

"I am so sorry, Ambrose. I have no idea what happened there, I just sort of mentally passed out, I guess."

Ambrose smiled wearily. "Don't worry, it's perfectly normal," he lied.

Ethan smiled in reply, not catching it. "I'm very sorry to have bothered you. I can't seem to remember why I even came here."

Ambrose watched him leave, concerned. Something seemed very odd indeed. Interesting...

Bartleby was his usual enigmatically quiet self as Ethan climbed the ramp that led up to the tree chamber's door. The old creature swayed in the soft breeze that blew from the dark corners of Nightside, where the death school once stood above. His thick, supportive branches creaked and Ethan strode into the Spiral Chamber.

The door stood alone in the center of the grand room, in the middle of an intricately designed floor. Bright green leaves sprouted from the walls and a soft golden light shimmered from above. Students rushed in and out of the door, mounted on animals or dragging along small and adorable pets. Ethan took his house key out from his robe and clutched it in his sweaty hand before stepping through the familiar Spiral Door. He then instantaneously stepped back out and into his home where Jackson was waiting.

"Feed me!" He groaned pitifully.

"Be patient, Jackson. I only just got here."

"I know, but that doesn't stop me from getting hungry! One _big_ fish would be nice."

"We'll see. I don't know exactly how big it will be, but it hopefully will be enough to fill you up." Ethan hung his rope up in the closet and was left in only his crude undergarments.

"Where's the food?" Jackson chirped expectantly.

"Coming," Ethan replied, rummaging through the cabinet. "Here's a flounder. Go nuts."

"Woo!" Jackson waited for the fish to flop down into his dish before ravaging through the tender, salty seafood. Ethan looked on, grimacing.

"That used to be a pet, you know. I stole it off of Calypso in Celestia. She had a freaking horde of flounder pets."

"So you took them all?" Jackson guessed.

"Well yeah, I filleted a good three-quarters of them and kept the rest as pets. In fact, that's one now."

Jackson looked up to see a flat, arrogant-looking fish swimming up to him.

"Sorry about your friend." Jackson guilty glanced down at the half eaten food. The fish pet blubbed disdainfully and continued swimming over to his little clique by the waterfall. Jackson waited for it to disappear before he stopped pretending to be sorry.

"Look, kid, I'm really not all that interested in where the fish came from as long as it tastes good."

"Fine," Ethan conceded. "But don't call me kid."

"It's amazing how many useful things your wand can be used for," Professor Greyrose concluded her lesson as her ice students began to pack up their backpacks. No one particularly cared about what she was saying; they were just glad to have new spells to fight with. Mason was no exception. He didn't enjoy class all that much, but the ever-creative spells he learned made the toil and trouble all worth it.

"Mason," Greyrose called his name as he absentmindedly heaved his backpack upon his shoulders.

"Mister Blueriver, please pay attention when I am speaking to you."

He turned around and fought the urge to glare at her. "Yes, Professor?"

"You failed your test today. I thought you'd like to know."

"I did?" Mason turned around, not particularly surprised.

Lydia Greyrose glanced at him knowingly. "Yes, you did. I thought some details on makeup tests would interest you."

Mason wanted to go home, desperately, and pretending to be calm and happy in class was not helping his mood. "No, Professor, they honestly wouldn't. Now if you'd excuse me, I'd like to go home now. Thank you."

"Mr. Blueriver, I think you should stay."

He whipped around, his thaumaturgy hat almost falling off in the process. "What could you _possibly_ need, Professor? I thought you would be content with me simply being here."

"Is that all you want to do in life?" Lydia Greyrose let her voice rise, something she very rarely did.

"Yes! There is absolutely _no _point in anything else!" Mason's voice grew in volume and almost matched his flustered Professor's.

"_You are wrong!_" She shouted, drawing the attention of students who had been passing by outside. "You are completely and utterly wrong! There is far more to life than simply existing! You have to stir the world around you! You have to change people who in turn can change others!"

Mason sat down in his chair and his teacher fluttered down onto his desk.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you, dear, but something has to change. You haven't always been this unproductive."

"I know. I didn't mean to fail the test, okay? I just want to go home."

Greyrose fought back her frustration and calmy fluttered over to her desk. "I understand. You're dismissed."

"Thank you." He exited quickly, hoping no one else would call his name.

The crimson color of the sunset over the Commons was a gorgeous sight to see every night. A few stars were visible in the indigo screen of sky far behind the vibrant blues, reds, and yellows that surrounded the slowly sinking, golden sun. A light breeze swept through the area, causing the trees to rustle and a chill to descend through the bones of Austin Ghosthunter, who had barely escaped his Aquilan home. It was hard to enjoy moments like these when you've witnessed things like he did. The water in the small pond shimmered with the last of that day's light. He shivered, pulling his yellow cloak around him for warmth.

"Isn't it beautiful?"

Austin jumped, startled by the sudden sound. A girl, Theurgist, by the looks of her, had been walking past and decided to stop.

"I'm sorry if I startled you. It's just been so hard to find people to talk to lately."

Austin nodded, aloof from his current conversation. "Yeah," he murmured absentmindedly. The Theurgist glanced at him, concern evident on her face.

"Are you okay? You look like you're not feeling well," she commented.

"I'm feeling perfectly fine," he remarked, a little rudely.

This theurgist was slightly annoyed, of course, but she was not one to give up on someone who she thought was in need of help.

"If you have something to say you should say it, I think."

"What in the Spiral gave you the idea that I wanted to say something?"

"You're face," the girl stated, wiping a stray tear from his face.

It wasn't until that moment that Austin had even realized he was crying. He quickly rubbed away any remaining evidence of his tears.

"Don't tell anyone," he muttered, sniffling.

"Why? It's okay to cry. Everyone needs it every now and then."

"Oh yeah? Not me, it's too embarrassing."

"Embarrassing?"

"Oh yeah. Everyone would laugh at me. I wouldn't do that to myself, and I honestly can't think of any reason why you would."

The theurgist pursed her lips.

"My name is Miranda," she changed the subject.

"I couldn't care less." Austin almost laughed. He displayed his most cynical smile.

Miranda blinked, not very happy with him. The wind began to pick up as she pulled her hat back onto her head, keeping her wavy, dark hair still.

"Show some gratitude," she murmured, almost chastising. It took a moment for her words to sink in, and Austin sat in silence when they did. He was stunned.

Before he could even turn around, Miranda disappeared in a sudden flash of green light, teleporting away to Ethan's home.

"What? Who the hell does he think he is?" Ethan paced the floor of his bedroom as Miranda told him about her encounter with the rude Myth wizard.

"Don't curse," she told him, trying to calm him down. "There is enough drama going around the Spiral without your testosterone stampede of rage."

"What? I do not have 'stampedes of rage'. For your information, I simply," he was cut off before he could finish his sentence.

"Ethan, calm down. I can take care of myself, in case you haven't noticed." Miranda defended herself indignantly. He sighed as she grabbed her backpack. "I'll see you later. Tomorrow's another day."

She then teleported away.

Jackson sauntered over, ready to contribute to Ethan's mood.

"I think I see the problem," he stated.

"Oh yeah? What is it?"

"Hmm… All I've seen in this whole awkward situation is that you're just the typical territorial male who can't seem to keep his anger under control."

"What? How am I territorial?"

"You're far too protective of Miranda and you feel like she's your responsibility, even though she's not. Show some respect." Jackson hopped onto the bed and made himself comfortable for a long argument.

"I'm trying, but…"

"But what? You know, you remind me of me when I was young and hormonal like you. I handled my situations a lot better, though."

"Oh really? How?"

Jackson smirked. "You really want to know?"

Ethan rolled his eyes in impatience and exasperation. "Yes, cat, I would like to know how you're so much better than me."

Jackson laughed a bit before spilling the beans.

"You know what I did whenever I wanted a girl? I just grabbed her one day and took her to my house and…"

"Wait, wait, wait, I think I know where this is going, and _no_, I would rather not get her pregnant."

Jackson shrugged, slightly disappointed that he couldn't tell his X-rated story. "Suit yourself, kid. At least it worked for me," he mewled before hopping back off the now fur covered bed, leaving Ethan to think alone for a little while.

**I hope you enjoyed it a bit! Sorry it's taken me so long to update, but I've just been busy with some other top-secret work. (By top-secret, I mean school related.) However, I do still plan on continuing with the story for now, and I have even come up with a near complete outline of the whole story. I can't wait until it all falls into place! Hope you all continue to enjoy this story and any others of mine that you may read! Keep being awesome, and review!**


	4. Chapter 4

An eerie silence fell upon the empty street. Unicorn Way was a very unpleasant place to be at night, with all of the lost souls roaming around with the dark fairies and skeletons. Many young Quest-Wizards-in-training had been told to empty the street of these creatures that morning and they had all defeated a set amount, but not even a dent had been inflicted onto the evil population.

"_That's Malistaire's doing,"_ the evil man thought. "_His magic has lasted long after his death, and it wasn't even that impressive. It was a simple stain of Death Magic in the fabric of the Spiral, barely noticeable in the ever changing ways of the Universe."_

He sat down on one of the benches in Unicorn Park. He spat on it and it began to slowly disintegrate under him.

"_My magic is _far _more powerful,"_ he gleefully boasted to himself. "_My magic won't just stain the fabric of the Spiral, it will break it. It will completely destroy the Spiral, and it won't even stop. To the far corners of the Universe my magic shall spread and destroy. Galaxy after galaxy will fall to my unending, unequal power. Nothing will stop me, and as soon as I get rid of the remaining threats, I will be completely invincible."_

The Shadow-Man stood just as the bench collapsed on itself. He chuckled, the sound being absorbed by his magic. Ceren Nightchant, one of the trainers, didn't even twitch as he lay down in the pavilion. He was another one of the people who hadn't yet fallen prey to the Shadow-Man's magic, but those who did were gone. They were all dead and their atoms were dispersed all around the atmosphere. The Shadow-Man laughed louder as a gruesome idea struck him.

He strode over to the sleeping form of the theurgist and stared predatorily.

"_He will be the symbol," _he thought. "_He will teach the Desert to stop."_

With no hesitation, the horrible villain abruptly stomped onto Ceren's neck. A crack rang out around the man's shadowy sound-shield and he cackled. Ceren's eyes flew open and his hands rushed up to his throat. His eyes began to bulge and his skin flushed, veins visibly pulsing around his face. He choked as his airway was blocked by the man's boot. His face grew darker in color and his eyes began to become bloodshot. His tongue began to swell and dark spots were visible in Ceren's vision.

"_He will be more than a symbol,"_ the entity told himself, expanding on his previous ideas. "_He will be my toy, my puppet. Just as the Desert shall be to the new order of my world's business."_

Ceren struggled under the stinking rubber of the boot's heel as his vision grew darker. The world spun around him as he was held in place by the unrelenting force of this man's foot. Just as he was beginning to give in to the sweet embrace of death, the man released Ceren's near broken neck from under his shoe. He gasped as air finally filled his lungs again and he began to get dizzy from the sudden rush of new oxygen. He couldn't help but grin; he could breathe again!

But the man made sure his pleasure didn't last.

He knelt beside the near-dead life wizard and ran his hands invasively up his robe.

"What are you..?" He gasped as the evil man of Shadow _licked_ his neck. The skin began to simmer and darken.

He cried out, but no one heard.

"This is your reward for being my symbol," the maniacal being murmured, kissing the horrified and dying Ceren. His hand continued to trail up his body until they reached his collar.

"I want to use you," the man snickered suggestively and Ceren flailed in his firm grip. "I want you to be my puppet. I want the whole Spiral to see that you are mine… And you are _dead_."

After finishing his much used speech, the Shadow Wizard clutched the boy's face and twisted.

The neck snapped one final time, and Ceren lay alone in the pavilion. He was dead, and the man was gone.

And yet, even with the absence of a heartbeat and the now gaping, burning hole in his neck, he sat up. No air pushed into or out of his lungs. No pulse rushed through his veins. Nothing. He was dead.

But he was alive.

"There seems to be a problem," Gamma the owl notified the Headmaster, whose face displayed great concern.

"What is it, my good friend? Have their been any more sightings of Old Cob?"

"No sir. He's been in hiding for a while. I'm afraid this matter is more...close to home."

Ambrose's monocle slid to the tip of his nose and fell, dangling from a small thread. "Really? How close?"

"Unicorn Way, I'm afraid. There seems to have been another attack."

The ancient wizard stroked his long, white beard. He wasn't anticipating a third. So far, two groups of Quest-Wizards had been murdered by two single other students. But they weren't just two normal wizards; these wizards were not breathing. They couldn't be alive, and yet two half-dead mediocre-skilled wizards could defeat _groups_ of highly skilled Quest-Wizards.

Now, a third wizard has acted.

The street was filled with a crowd of cowering wizards of any and every school. Teachers were scattered among the mass, acting as crowd control. The site was chaotic and the whole area reeked with decomposition. Headmaster Ambrose began to weave his way through the hysterical wizards, hoping to make it to the victims without getting stampeded under boots. He shoved the last two students out of the way before coming across the now familiar sight of four highly-decorated, highly-skilled wizards lying face down and bloody.

Ambrose sighed, his heart breaking for the poor souls that were lost to this zombie. He looked up to the now fully-dead zombie and was about to burn the body when he let his wand drop, gasping in shock. This zombie wasn't just a random student, it was Ceren Nightchant. Concern flared in Gamma's eyes as he too recognized the familiar face. A gaping hole in the wizard's neck left behind a strong, stinky smell of acid and burning flesh.

Students behind him were crying, which wasn't an uncommon reaction. In fact, it was very light to what he had previously seen. The first time something like this happened, many years ago, one child had actually fainted and died on the spot. Nothing like that had happened yet, to his knowledge, and he intended to continue keeping the casualties to a minimum.

Gamma sat in grave thought. Now that Ceren was dead, who in the Spiral would be able to train new Quest-Wizards? How could the cycle of Wizard City's life continue without such an integral piece? Ambrose let similar thoughts cross his mind, but understood enough to not dwell on them. Whether it was easy or not, they would have to find someone new, or the whole Spiral could be doomed.

"Ethan! Ethan, wake up! There's been another murder!"

The now-familiar scent of apple-blossoms and sweet-perfume permeated into Ethan's nostrils as Miranda struggled to wake him up. She violently shook him as Jackson began to stretch on the other side of the bed.

"Wha-What?" Ethan asked groggily. He sat up and wiped the sleep dust from his eyes.

"You need to get up now. Ambrose is calling for all Arcanum initiates-" she began, but she noticed Ethan's eyes trailing behind her to where the door was open.

"Yeah, sorry. I let myself in."

"I noticed," he muttered, exhaling loudly as his shoulder cracked mid-stretch.

Jackson smirked. "I was going to wake you up, but I figured you'd be happy to let Miranda into your bedroom."

"Shut up!" Ethan threw his pillow at him, causing him to mewl and tumble off the bed.

"I was just trying to be helpful, you jerk." Jackson indignantly shook out his pelt and hopped delicately back onto the mattress.

Ethan scowled but continued his conversation with Miranda. "Where exactly does he want us to go?"

"The pavilion in Unicorn Way," she informed him. " I wanted to tell you before I went."

"Thanks."

They sat in awkward silence until Miranda got up to leave.

"Wait, Miranda. I have something to say."

"Yeah?"

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry for how I acted last night. I'm not your father and I shouldn't be so protective of you. I just need to get used to giving you some space."

Miranda grinned, her teeth gleaming in the light from the open window behind the bed. Ethan couldn't help but let a small smile appear on his own face.

"I'm glad you apologized. Now I'll just need an apology from that one wizard from yesterday. He seemed a bit off."

Ethan nodded in understanding. "See you there."

"Yep."

She then teleported to Unicorn Way.

"Good job!" Jackson praised him. "I didn't think you'd have it in you."

"I'm a Sorcerer. What can I say, I'm a patient guy."

"Don't flatter yourself," the sabertooth groaned as he shrugged away a brief pain in his shoulder. "You enjoy the meeting. I'm not coming with you."

"Gee, thanks," Ethan muttered, finding his clothes and changing. A small, raggedy pair of boots awaited him at the foot of his bed as he slipped on his Sardonyx outfit. Khrysalis' tailor's were well known for their armor and cloaks, and he had found the clothing quite useful in times of danger. Whether or not this meeting would be dangerous, he'd have to wait and see.

The crowd had already started to disperse as several Arcanum members circled around the now-dead body. Ethan took his place beside Jaki, who was fidgeting and murmuring to herself with her usual nervous energy as Miranda settled next to her mute, wise Koala mentor.

"As you all know, there has been another attack," a distraught Ambrose began. "I thank you all for the gracious use of your time. However, we must get down to business quickly."

There were a few moments of quiet before he continued.

"Let's start with an investigation. The victim's been poisoned, can't you smell it?"

A few people murmured their agreement. An acrid scent had filled the air and Ethan was reminded of his first try casting a Nested Fury. The smoke from the bomb of the smallest nesting doll had been stuck and the smoke had built up after a little while. When Jaki finally had the chance to get it open, it exploded in her face.

"Ethan?"

I felt Miranda nudging my shoulder as I was enveloped in nostalgia.

"Ethan? Hello? Wake up, you missed the instructions."

I awoke at those words and looked around. Everyone had begun to fan out and do their things, except Miranda and Ethan, along with their increasingly impatient mentors.

"Let's get our work done _now_, Ethan. I have spells to work on." Jaki Whisperwind's legs twitched as she anxiously awaited for him to get ready.

"Sorry, Jaki. I was just thinking."

"Oh. I frankly couldn't care less, but I don't think that would be a polite thing to say to your face. So I won't."

Ethan's head cocked to the side in brief confusion, but carried on with his work. Sometimes she was a little bit rude. And ditzy.

He could hear only a few words that came out of her mouth next. She tended to mumble to herself and, though it could be annoying, it sometimes seemed to be helpful if you knew what she was talking about. She seemed to be sticking with the whole idea of poison, but something in her voice seemed to be different.

As Ethan strained to hear her, he could make out only a few sentences. However, all three had to do with one common thing: water.

"What about water," he prompted. She stopped mumbling.

"Water? Oh, yeah. It seems there's a lot of body water in this wound."

'_Body water?'_ Ethan thought.

"Maybe he was drooling a bit or something."

Jaki shook her head, denying it.

"How can you tell it isn't just water from the fountain or from a spell or something _other_ than his own body?"

"His _own_ body?" Jaki queried. I shut my mouth for a brief moment to gather my thoughts.

I replied, "I assumed that's what you were meaning."

"No. I never said anything about his own body. There's body water on this wizard, and it's not his own."

"How the hell did she do that? I mean, she's an Arcanum person like me, right? So how could she know how to deduce all this and I can't?"

Ethan was ranting to Jackson at the moment

"You know Ethan, you aren't exactly the greatest Balance wizard out there. You were constantly praised by that Ambrose guy and now you suddenly think you're the king of sorcery. You wanna know what I think? I think she knows some kind of extra special spell that you haven't learned yet. I mean, not even the other Arcanum members quite know which world she came from, so maybe someone from her world had some type of special connection with Balance or something."

Ethan paused. Jackson was right; no one except Jaki herself really knew where she had been taught. She was surprisingly enigmatic.

Jackson continued, "Anyway, I think you should respect her. She's your _mentor_ for a reason. Don't let your pride get in the way of your education."

Ethan grumbled a few choice words under his breath before walking away. He wasn't going to admit it, but he knew Jackson was right.

"We need to report this news," Jaki Whisperwind told Ethan, after contacting him that night. Earlier that morning, they had investigated Unicorn Way together and had found a disturbing clue. The next step was to tell the rest of the Arcanum members, which is what Jaki came to Ethan's house to do.

"You're right," he replied, yawning. "We should head there right away. Do you think they'd still be awake?"

"Probably. If they're like me, they don't need sleep for several days. Or weeks."

That explained a little bit…

"Alright, then I guess we should probably get going."

Ethan slipped on his hood and crept out of his home, shutting the door behind him. He made sure the door didn't slam; if Jackson woke up, he'd end up following them. That wouldn't be pleasant.

In a moment, Jaki and Ethan had made it to the Spiral Door. Jaki inserted her key and turned, causing the door to swing open. They stepped through.

The Ravenwood streets were still empty as Austin, the Conjurer, walked to his old professor. Cyrus Drake, the myth teacher, was being a grouch in his tower, as usual. His class had been dismissed several hours ago and he had retreated to his office, where no one would bother him. Usually, he'd be left to dwell on his thoughts alone.

Tonight wasn't one of those nights.

Austin briskly strode toward the large, yellowish tower opposite the school he had once attended. The familiar, musty smell of ancient minions and frog vomit invaded his nostrils and he fought the urge to gag. He had once been used to these smells; now they were just revolting.

As he reached out to knock on the door, a slight breeze blew. Austin's hair wisped out from under his cap and he tucked it back in. He grimaced as the breeze grew into a billow of air, a gust, and wrap itself around the magical school. It scattered dead leaves among the painted ground and almost blew the newly-placed wind chimes off of Professor Wu's tree, Blossom. It began to grow chillier as darkness like a shadow fell upon Ravenwood. Bartleby's branches shuddered and swayed as the old being grew tired.

"It has been a little while, my boy."

Austin was startled to hear the deep voice the had rumbled behind him. He risked a glance, and was not pleased by what he saw. Shadow, as Austin had gotten used to calling him, had appeared.

"It's only been a few days," he murmured in quiet reply. Shadow's laugh sounded out, causing Austin's body to vibrate.

"Was it really that recent? I'd lost track. I must have been torturing too many students."

Austin sighed. "You've been torturing students?"

"Indeed. Haven't you noticed all the people missing? Ravenwood hasn't been this empty since Old Cob had almost killed Bartleby."

"No, I hadn't noticed. I haven't been in this place since I was invited to join the Arcanum, and I haven't even been able to go there."

"Ah, yes. I recall. I asked you to give me the world key, because-"

"Yes, because 'it's the only way to get through the Arcanum's barrier'. Yes, you've told me."

Austin was growing irritable. He had finally started to think that Shadow was done with him, but he was wrong. It just wasn't possible to catch a break.

"What did you come here for?"

Shadow cackled.

"I believe _I _am the one who should be asking the questions. You should learn to remember that _I _have the authority. Not you. Not your precious professor, or even Ambrose himself. Soon, they will learn to answer to _me!"_

Austin's mouth clamped shut and he awaited the opportunity to speak again. It never came; Shadow had left.

"_What exactly did he come for," _Austin wondered. "_If all he wanted to do was interrupt me, why even waste the time and appear anyway?"_

Austin didn't care anymore, so he went ahead and knocked on the door. He heard a heavy sigh and a few grumbled words before the door swung open, revealing a very cranky professor.

"What do you want?"

Austin rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"I came to give you my answer."

Cyrus Drake relaxed and stepped outside, shutting the large door behind him.

"I assume you're accepting the offer from the Arcanum."

"No, actually," Austin replied, evenly. "I've decided not to take it. There can't be that much more to learn, can there?"

Professor Drake sighed.

"Actually, there's plenty for you to learn. I haven't even finished learning _my _spells. And I'm much older than you."

"I don't care. When I graduated, I was done with school. I'm not going back. In fact, I'll think I'll purchase a home for myself."

The Myth Professor shook his head in disappointment. Usually, his students would jump at the chance to better themselves in their studies, but he'd guessed there would always be someone who would be pleased with themselves beforehand. Plus, there had always been something different about Austin.

Little did the professor know, Austin knew quite a bit that the professor didn't. In fact, he had been taught a different magic entirely; Shadow magic, from Shadow himself.

**Haha! Done with chapter 4! That was hard… Hope it was good enough for you guys! R&amp;R!**


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